Weak JCE results were expected � BOSETU
Correspondent | Friday February 5, 2016 16:24
Policy and Legislative Issues
The Automatic promotion & the two – tier education system The view of the union is that while it is important to have universal access to education, it should also be coupled with quality assurance; it should not only be universal access for the sake of quantity.
In desperate attempts to attain universal access in line with the Education For All (EFA) goals, government has compromised quality in many respects. Students have been pushed through the theoretical academic studies route in spite of them having shown that they are deficient or incapable to pursue that route.
This has been done through the automatic promotion policy of government, where irrespective of students having challenges and having failed the academic theoretical orientation, they would be promoted automatically to pursue that route of education. This policy of automatic progression with the aim of catapulting all students towards academic theoretical education irrespective of capability to attain the EFA goals, has contributed significantly to the degrading standards of education in this country and consequently resulting in the ever-dwindling final examination results across all levels.
Our considered view as the union on this matter is that, the education system country should promote a two – tier system where the theoretical academic orientation education is not the main emphases as is the case now. We advocate for a system where the same emphasis and opportunities are given to students to pursue either the vocational educational or the academic theoretical education.
This two – tier system of education would provide for dual pathways in which, during the early years, talent and potential are identified and students are channelled to the relevant persuasion and orientation. In this case vocational education is given equal status with the academic theoretical education. The current situation is such that the vocational education is relegated and regarded as an education for failures and such institutions as brigades and vocational training centres have now been stigmatised.
Class Sizes
Class sizes are critical in any educational system as they translate into a workload for a teacher. It is actually a ratio of students to a teacher and it signifies the workload of a teacher in relation to teaching and learning. The government of Botswana does not have a clear-cut policy on class sizes. The Revised National Education Policy on Education of 1994 recommended that class – sizes be reduced to 35 in elementary schools and 30 in secondary schools. In spite that government adopted the recommendation, it was never implemented, and on the contrary, classes keep on increasing as we currently have schools with 50 students in a class. The large class sizes have adversely affected the quality of education in this country. There is abundant evidence from research that the less students are in a class room, the more likely that a teacher would have more time with each one them and more likely that the teacher would use student-centred methods that are more effective. On the other hand, the more students are in a classroom, the more likely that the teacher would not be able to give each student enough attention in a classroom and is likely to use transmission methods that are less effective. The view of BOSETU is that class size policy of government should put the ratio at 1:25, which would be in line with the international standards. The Education International, an international body affiliated by teacher organisations and teacher trade unions world wide, puts the affordable student – teacher ratio at 1:25. It is in this same vein that we contend that there is no saturation of teachers in the market, as classes in schools need to be divided into two the need for more teachers. It is with regard to the view above that the trade union BOSETU would this year vigorously pursue the issue of reduction of class sizes to 1:25.
In – Service training for teachers
It is paramount to note that the dynamics of the teaching profession is such that the teaching content and methodologies keep on changing and as such there is a dire need for teachers to be upgraded and up skilled. Any government that endeavours to have an efficient and effective teaching service needs to have due regard for an in – service policy aimed at upgrading, up – skilling and re – tooling its serving crop of teachers. The teaching methodologies change and so is the syllabus content. Our view is that government is concentrating more on inspectorate to the negligence and detriment of in - service training. BOSETU’s view on this matter is crisply clear that government should develop and adopt a clear in – service policy. BOSETU would this year campaign vigorously to have government adopt a clear cut guiding principle on in - service training for teachers.
Disparity in resources
It is quite evident from the recently released JCE final results that schools in towns and major villages are doing significantly well when compared to schools in the far – flung areas in the not so developed areas of this country. It is common cause that such disparity in terms of resources needs to be addressed. Our view as BOSETU is government needs to move swiftly to provide as a basic fundamental right, the internet, computers and even ipads to all students especially those in rural areas to use for research in their studies. Our view is that this will go a long to close the gap of resources between schools in towns and those in rural areas.
2.0. Welfare Issues
2.1. Hours of in the teaching service
As has always been our consistent view, since the commencement of the Public Act No. 30 of 2008 in 2010, teachers have been working for eight (8) hours a day, different from the previous dispensation whereupon they were working for close to 12 hours day. In view of the reduction of the hours of work for teachers as stipulated in Public Service Act which was crafted in line with International Labour Standards, the contact time between the teachers and students reduced dramatically hence affecting productivity of teachers at the work place.
Activities that used to be done after hours such as course work projects, remedial lessons, and enrichment activities are no longer being carried out due to deficient time. BOSETU has on several occasions pointed to a hazard in this respect, that, the reduced contact time would cause a calamity in the education system of the country. This has come to pass. We have on several occasions requested for the adoption of the 26-day model that would enable teachers to work longer hours with a little extra pay.
*Tobokani Rari is BOSETU’s secretary general